The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Basic Story of Life, #16

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. (Malachi 4:2)

The coming of the Lord will be a time of redemption for those who have faithfully followed Him during their pilgrimage on the earth.

The Lord's "mighty men" will rule with Him just as David's mighty men ruled with David. The remainder of true Israel will be nourished by the Lord.

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. (Isaiah 40:11)

Never again will there be an unprotected glory. On all the glory there will be an eternal, impregnable defense. There will be no more rebellions against the Father's will—not for the eternity of eternities. Christ in and with the conquerors will protect Paradise against evil.

We can see that at the coming of the Lord, before the thousand-year Kingdom Age, the Wife of the Lamb will be clothed in the righteous deeds of the overcoming saints:

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness [righteous conduct, righteous behavior] of saints. (Revelation 19:8)

But by the end of the thousand-year period the Wife of the Lamb will have been transformed into the holy city, the new Jerusalem.

And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, (Revelation 21:10)

The Wife of the Lamb first is seen dressed in white linen and then is beheld as a marvelous city. When did this transformation take place? Apparently during the thousand-year Kingdom Age.

The Divine decree that controls the work of restoration can be found in Isaiah 51:16:

And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people. (Isaiah 51:16)

This is Christ's great commission. The Lord Jesus is Christ. We are the Body of Christ, the fullness of Him whom God has chosen to fill the whole universe.

The word of restoration is in the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ and He puts it into the mouths of His servants. Christ is covered by the hand of the Father and Christ extends that protection to us.

The heavens must be planted. Our inheritance, our land of promise, is the gaining of the spiritual thrones that govern the material creation. Satan and his angels will be deposed and the conquering saints will be given control of the nations of the earth and of the earth itself.

The foundations of the earth will be laid. In the present hour the earth is established on the "floods," on what is shifting and unstable. But we look for a city that has foundations. That city is the new Jerusalem for it is founded on the Rock, Christ. In the twelve ornamented foundations of the wall of the holy city are inscribed the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.

To be continued.